I Quit!

Yearend bonus season is around the corner and some of us may be thinking it is time to “jump ship”. But is it a good time to quit? Rather, is there a “right” time to quit your job?

Before we tackle these questions, let’s evaluate a concept known as “Deliberate Practice”. For those who are into investment management, you may be familiar with this concept. Some veteran investment managers used this concept on their portfolio construction to provide objectivity on their stock holdings. As you can appreciate, there are many investment managers who fall in love with stocks that they own in their portfolio even though those stocks may have lost its “value” over their investment cycle and left to be in a state of “deeper value” (into the abyss).

Deliberate Practice – if a stock is not in the investment portfolio today, will I buy it? If the answer is No, why is it still doing inside the portfolio

Applying this concept of “Deliberate Practice” to your job is relatively simple; it is not about a good time or a right time to quit but to ask yourself this – if you are not in your current job today, will you apply for it? If the answer is No, you better start planning your exit!

The rationale is rather simple too; if you are no longer enjoying what you do, you are unlikely to put in your best efforts. And if you are not giving your best efforts at work, you are unlikely to receive good appraisal (and performance bonus).

So, before you call it quits, consider applying the “Deliberate Practice” concept on your job.